very much. but there you go. some sights and sounds here from cal's pep rally at sproul plaza earlier today. and uc berkeley's new chancellor, rich lyons. certainly fired up. students also made signs ahead of espn's college game day show. and that is, of course, early tomorrow morning. college game day airs on our sister network espn, starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow. the game between the eighth ranked miami hurricanes and the cal bears is also on espn, and kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. thank you so much for joining us. before we go, i just want to remind you that there's that wildfire burning in lake county that broke out this afternoon already there, evacuations and 200 acres have burned. we're >> david: tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the economy tonight. the blockbuster new jobs report, surpassing expectations. the stock market tonight setting

another all-time high. also tonight, after hurricane helene, another system now set to bring nearly a foot of rain to some parts. we'll have the new forecast. what dolly parton has done tonight amid the devastation. first, the economy and the blowout jobs reporting crushing expectations, wages going up. and the new stock market high tonight. vice president kamala harris fueled by the news. president biden surprising recorders in the briefing room. what former president trump said today when asked about the improving economic picture. tonight, the painstaking search for the missing. families not giving up hope after hurricane helene. more than 220 lives lost now. tonight, we have learned about the heartbreaking death of twin babies and their mother. vice president harris in north carolina tomorrow. amid all of this tonight, we're now tracking yet another new threat in the gulf at this hour. nearly a foot of rain could be coming. meteorologist cecily tynan is here to time this out. tonight, the u.s. launching

military strikes on militants in yemen as iran's supreme leader now issues a dire warning to israel. back in the u.s. tonight, one of the most notorious murder trials in u.s. history. what we've learned tonight about the da's decision to review the case of lyle and eric menendez. could they go free? tonight here, the midair confrontation on board an american airlines flight. passengers rushing to help a woman. the new images tonight. the i effort to save the elephants from the floods. and the remarkable moment in a walmart parking lot. what dolly parton has done tonight. dolly and the everyday heroes helping in the storm zone. our "persons of the week." >> david: good evening, and it's great to have you with thus friday. we have a lot to get to tonight. the devastation after hurricane helene. we're watching another system

that could bring up to another foot of rain. meteorologist cecily tynan is here are. and what dolly parton has done in the storm zone tonight.

battleground michigan, making the case she will be the president for american workers. >> donald trump's track record is a disaster for working people. and he's trying to gaslight people all over our country. but we know the facts, and we know the truth. he is an existential threat to america's labor movement. >> reporter: harris fueled by the economic news and the development overnight, the biden administration working to end the dockworkers strike that could have raised prices for american families in the coming weeks. tonight that crisis also averted. in a rare moment, president biden surprising recorders in the briefing room, taking a victory lap on an improving economy. >> once again, outside experts were wrong. inflation has come down. wages have gone up faster than prices. interest rates are down. >> reporter: the new blockbuster

jobs report showing stronger than expected-hiring across the u.s. economy. restaurants, health care, state and local governments, construction, adding tens of thousands of workers with wages going up, too. the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.1%. economists say another very encouraging sign. i asked trump today about the state of the economy. jobs are up, the stock market hit that all-time high. >> no, it's not. it's -- inflation is -- devastated our economy. it's one of the big problems we have. >> reporter: the former president back in the battleground state of georgia. this time side by side with republican governor brian kemp, who he once attacked for refusing to help him overturn the results of the 2020 election in georgia. their first public appearance together in four years. tonight, president biden was pressed if he's concerned about whether this election will be peaceful. do you have confidence that it will be a free and fair election and that it will be peaceful? >> two separate questions. i'm confident it will be free and fair.

i don't know whether it will be peaceful. the things that trump has said and the things that he said last time out when he didn't like the outcome of the election were very dangerous. if you notice, i noticed that the vice presidential republican candidate did not say he'd accept the outcome of the election. hasn't accepted the outcome of the last election. so i -- i'm concerned about what they're going to do. >> reporter: today, donald trump said he could only hope that this election would be free and fair. he would not answer if he believes it would remain peaceful. tomorrow, the former president heads to butler, pennsylvania, that exact rally location where there was an attempt on his life nearly three months ago. as for the harris campaign, next week former president barack obama gets out on the campaign trail for vice president kamala harris. he'll be doing a blitz the battle ground states starting in all-important pennsylvania. meanwhile tonight, the pain staking and desperate effort to find the missing continues after

hurricane helene and the storm that followed. tonight, at least 220 confirmed deaths now, hundreds still unaccounted for. new images still emerging tonight. the destructive floodwaters, tractor-trailers tumbling in the rushing waters in swan that noah, north carolina. the moment one of those trailers is wrapped around a pole right there. tonight here, the stark satellite images. this is the chimney rock country fair, they call it, a colorful amusement park. this is before the storm. tonight, look at this. nothing is left. the road is completely gone. the fair's website says "permanently closed." >> reporter: tonight, recovery from helene's devastating destruction entering its second week. >> almost up to my knees. this is nuts. i ain't never seen something like this. >> reporter: the search for survivors exhausting, but everyone holding out hope. >> we know these are hard times, but please know we're coming. we're coming to get you. >> reporter: when rescue crews

clear a property they mark it with an "x." the zero means no one was found inside. as of this morning there are hundreds still missing here in buncombe county. the north carolina national guard says their chopper teams and rescue crews have rescued more than 530 people and more than 100 pets, but so many areas still inaccessible. this drone video showing a department of transportation crew trying to carve a path into the town of chimney rock. here's what the area looked like before, and now. >> so we were just kind of holed behind that chimney there. >> reporter: in swannanoa, we met john zara. he and his family were rescued by a kayak from the roof of their home. he says neither he nor any of his neighbors have flood insurance. >> this is just not the kind of thing you see in asheville. so, you know, we've already been denied that coverage, and we're working with fema to, you know, see whatever they're going to be able to do. >> reporter: helene's destruction could have far-reaching consequences. hospitals across the country facing possible shortages of iv

fluids after one of the largest plants in the country was badly damaged. the plant producing 1.5 million bags of iv fluid a day. and sadly tonight, we are learning about the youngest victims of helene -- khyzier and khazmir williams, twins just 6 weeks old, died alongside their mother, kobe, hunkered in their trailer in thompson, georgia. and david, a bit of good news late today. buncombe officials now saying 75 people remain unaccounted for tonight. that is down from just about 200. vice president kamala harris set to visit tomorrow. david? >> david: really moving and important work from you, morgan, and the team there all week, thank you. by the way, we'll get to what dolly parton has done in the storm zone, it is incredible. as millions try to recover, we are watching another new system in the gulf tonight. a developing storm set to hammer florida with nearly a foot of rain. let's get right to chief meteorologist cecily tynan back

with us tonight. cecily, good to have you. >> good evening, david. all eyes are on disturbance in the gulf that now has a medium chance of becoming our next named tropical storm. even if it doesn't get a name, this system is going to bring flooding rains to florida through much of next week. some areas could get up to 10 inches of rain. right now, it looks like the heaviest rain will fall south of those areas affected by helene. east coast of florida, rip currents are going to be a problem right through the weekend. the reason why, major hurricane kirk, it's a category 4 hurricane. this system is more than 2,000 miles offshore, but it's big, it's powerful, it's really churning up the atlantic. now, out west, the october heat wave continues. another day of record heat for many cities, including denver coming off its hottest september on record. this heat continues well into next week. david? >> david: cecily die than, thank you. overseas, the u.s. launching strikes on iran-backed yemeni

rebels and a dire new warning to israel. ian pannell from beirut tonight. >> reporter: tonight, as fears grow of a wider war in the middle east, explosions rocking the capital of yemen. u.s. forces attacking iran-backed houthi rebels across the country. the pentagon saying the u.s. navy targeted 15 houthi military sites in an effort to make international waters safer after the houthis started targeting ships, claiming solidarity with the palestinians in gaza. this video showing a massive blast on an oil tanker. it comes as iran's supreme leader warned israel "will not survive." a gun at his side, ayatollah khamenei speaking publicly for the first time in nearly five years, praising iran's unprecedented missile attack on israel, calling it the "minimum punishment" for israel's crimes. and tonight, with israel vowing a painful retaliation against iran, israeli forces bombing beirut.

abc news has learned the idf targeted hashem safieddine, a possible successor to assassinated hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah. no word tonight if safieddine was killed. civilians, though, caught in the crossfire. >> it's very hard. >> reporter: american-lebanese citizen samer bawab, evacuated on a flight to istanbul. plumes of smoke visible at the airport. >> many people are waiting at the airport all day just so they can get their grandparents out, their mom out, or their daughters out. it's -- it's completely tragic. >> reporter: david, as israel plans its next move, oil prices have surged in recent days amid reports it may strike iranian oil facilities. that could impact gas prices. president biden today said israel should consider "other alternatives" to hitting iran's oil fields. david? >> david: ian pannell in beirut all week for us. meantime, back here in new york tonight, governor kathy hochul says state police will be deployed to synagogues after

multiple bomb threats. the threats so far found to be not credible, but new york city remains on high alert tonight amid the jewish high holy days and with monday's anniversary of the october 7th terror attacks in israel. the fbi and homeland security have warned it could motivate extremists. all these years later, one of the most notorious murder trials in american history. now the los angeles d.a. says he's reviewing new evidence, so could the menendez brothers go free? tear. moran covered the case years ago. he's back on the story tonight. >> reporter: tonight, will the menendez brothers go free? >> we have a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us. >> reporter: after more than three decades behind bars, there is now a glimmer of hope for lyle and erik menendez, who are serving life in prison without parole for the brutal killings of their parents in 1989. the los angeles district attorney has announced that he will review their case after lawyers for the brothers came

forward with new evidence that they say corroborates the brothers' claim that they were sexually abused by their father, the crucial issue in the case. >> what's the problem? >> someone killed my parents. >> reporter: it was a crime that was both shocking and salacious. the televised trial that captured the nation's attention, and now it's once again a cultural phenomenon popularized by a new and controversial netflix series. >> i'm just a normal kid. >> oh, erik, you're a normal kid who killed your parents. >> i know. >> reporter: the two young men both testifying they believed it was either kill or be killed, >> they were planning to kill us. >> reporter: that they had been sexually abused behind the doors of their beverly hills mansion by their domineering father, and that they were convinced their parents would kill them if they revealed the family secret. >> he would fondle me. >> my dad had been molesting me. >> reporter: now prosecutors are reviewing this letter, sent by erik to a cousin in the months before the murders. he writes, "i've been trying to avoid dad. it's still happening.

every night i stay up thinking he might come in." the d.a. is also investigating the claims of a former singer in the boy band menudo, who alleges that the brothers' father, the powerful record executive, jose menendez, abused him too. the judge who ultimately sentenced the brothers did not allow evidence of their alleged abuse to be heard at trial. their supporters say they've served their time, more than three decades behind bars, and that the case, and the life sentences, look very different today. >> fast forward 35 years later, we've got a much more robust and evolved understanding of abuse that, yes, abuse can occur both with females and with males. >> reporter: 24 members of the menendez family, including siblings of their father and mother, are asking that they be freed. and it goes way beyond that. from viral movements on social media to kim kardashian, who has visited the brothers in prison and who is also calling for

their release. >> david: terry moran with us here tonight. when we come back tonight, the midair confrontation on board an american airlines flight. passengers rushing to help a woman. also, the effort to save the elephants from the floods. the remarkable images of the

tonight, the disturbing confrontation aboard an american airlines flight from miami to charlotte. several passengers and crew appearing to save a woman from an allegedly violent man she was

traveling with. at least two men restraining the passenger. others helping to move the woman to another seat. police escorting both of them off the plane. when we come back here tonight, in new york city, could taking a taxi soon mean getting into a helicopter and flying over the city?

>> david: to the index of other news tonight, air taxis may soon an reality in several major cities, including new york. several aviation companies say they plan to start flying electric helicopters carrying passengers as early as next year. rides would be booked similar to you're uber alabama. they'd be flown by commercial pilots. tonight, a remarkable image from overseas. the race to rescue dozens of elephants from flash flooding in thailand. nearly 100 elephants have been evacuated from the elephant nature park. they still need to get several more out. the video tonight showing them wading 30 very deep water. two elephants are still missing, the park asking for volunteers to help get the remaining

elephants to safety. nearly 100 saved so far. when we come back here at home, the devastation after hurricane helene. tonight what

>> david: finally tonight, the everyday heroes. dolly parton and what they've all done. our "persons of the week." tonight, in the aftermath of hurricane helene, there remains so much need. this evening, so many are answering the call to help. they're called the happy helicopters tour company in neighboring greenville, south carolina, and they're using their own helicopters to fly in desperately needed supplies. >> we're trying to fit everything we can in our little helicopter here. >> david: so many families hearing about the effort, dropping off donations. water, diapers, food.

then the volunteer pilots flying into the regions in need. families also loading up trucks, driving supplies across state lines. tonight here -- >> hi, david. >> david: happy helicopters owner isaiah birch and his family, proud of all of the people who are pitching in. >> everybody in the community is giving. even people that don't have anything, that are running low themselves. the power's still out in a lot of the area here. people are just giving what they have without having enough. >> david: and just across town -- >> hi, david. come on in. >> david: dana lee marquez and restaurant kamal 864 serving up free meals to their community for five days straight now. >> the first day, 350 people. the second day, 200. yesterday was 450 people. me and my team, we cannot let people go hungry. and it won't happen here. >> david: in greensboro, north carolina, tonight the nonprofit feed the hunger handing out meals and supplies.

the food bank of central and eastern north carolina supporting the food banks of hard-hit western north carolina. in durham, the sign "donation dropoff." families showing up, their trucks full of donations. tonight, the everyday heroes doing what they can. and so is someone else. dolly parton in a walmart parking lot with her own donation and her song. >> today, i wanted to announce that from myself personally, just from my own bank account, i'm donating $1 million today. >> david: tonight, dolly using her music to help heal. >> well, i've been like everybody else, trying to absorb everything going on, trying to figure out all the best ways to do this. because then we had that crazy old helene. ♪ helene helene helene helene ♪ ♪ you came in here and broke us all apart ♪ ♪ helene helene helene helene ♪ ♪ but we're all here to mend

these broken hearts ♪ and that's what i'm doing here. >> david: so true. so we choose dolly and all those volunteers answering the call. i'll see you monday. good night.

and that breaking news is right here. a fire growing up near north clear lake just started before noon, has already burned 294 acres. multiple spot fires. cal fire has a lot of crews, resources and several aircraft responding. and here's the key. winds are picking up this